[lit.a.ny] n, pl -nies [ME letanie, fr. OF & LL; OF, fr. LL litania, fr. LGk litaneia, fr. Gk, entreaty, fr. litanos suppliant] (13c) 1: a prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation
2. a: a resonant or repetitive chant "a ~ of cheering phrases --Herman Wouk" b: a usu. lengthy recitation or enumeration "a familiar ~ of complaints"